Sheet feeding and aligning table

ABSTRACT

A table for feeding and aligning sheets of paper, cardboard or the like comprising a middle part and two lateral parts, the lateral parts being movable toward or away from the middle part. All three table parts are provided with upper and lower guides for a sheet. The lateral parts are adjustable independently from one another relative to the stationary middle part of the table for accommodating non-symmetric sheets. The adjustable table parts comprise spring bands arranged on edge and interconnected at spaced points with one another, with the middle table part and with lateral guides. Means for adjusting the drive of an inclined conveyor belt to the various positions of one of the lateral guides.

United States Patent [191 Kistner [451 Jan. 9, 1973 [54] SHEET FEEDING AND ALIGNING TABLE [22] Filed: Sept. 14, 1970 [21] App]. No.: 72,049

Primary Examiner-Evon C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-Bruce H. Stoner, Jr. Att0rney- Stowell & Stowell [57] ABSTRACT A table for feeding and aligning sheets of paper, cardboard or the like comprising a middle part and two lateral parts, the lateral parts being movable toward or away from the middle part. All three table parts are provided with upper and lower guides for a sheet. The lateral parts are adjustable independently from one another relative to the stationary middle part of the table for accommodating non-symmetric sheets. The adjustable table parts comprise spring bands arranged on edge and interconnected at spaced points with one another, with the middle table part and with lateral guides. Means for adjusting the drive of an inclined conveyor belt to the various positions of one of the lateral guides.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENIEDJM 91ers 3.709484 SHEET 1 BF 3 Fig.1

INVENTORi PATENTEDJAN 9197s 3 709484 SHEET 2 0F 3 Fig. 2

INVENTOR:

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INVENTOR: M/M BYI M 5514/ BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a sheet feeding and aligning table for feeding and laterally aligning sheets of paper, cardboard and similar materials, the new table being especially destined for feeding such sheets to folding, perforating and printing machines.

The invention is particularly useful in combination with means for laterally aligning the sheets to be moved thereon by a conveyor or feeding belt which is slightly inclined to the direction of feeding and insures the alignment of sheets along a profiled side guide or rail. In such feeding devices, the sheet is guided in its direction of movement without interrupting its support on the table.

Feeding and aligning tables for similar purposes are for instance known from German Pat. No. 1,103,356 and the German laid-out application (Auslegeschrift 1,230,440.

The machine disclosed in German Pat. No. 1,103,356 employs a narrow conveyor belt which is slightly inclined relative to the direction of movement, and the remaining table surface comprises a plurality of U-section rods mounted equally spaced from one another on a transversely extending web, the rods being laterally moved together with the belt and guide carrier according to the dimensions of the sheet. For the adjustment to a desired sheet width, the sheet edge opposite the guide may lie of necessity at any distance beyond or between the last and the next U-section rod so that at fast movement of the sheet its endangered edge has no sufficient lower guide and may escape downwardly.

The device disclosed in German laid-out application I 230 440 employs a plurality of inclined rollers arranged on both sides and supported the one behind the other each in a slidable frame, the table area lying therebetween being formed by individually fastened U- section rods. This prior known construction is expensive on account of the second roller path operating without ball loading and being therefore not effective as driving means. This second roller path must also not i become effective so as to avoid formation of a crease. It has in the middle field individually fastened U-section rods which for each change of sheet size have to be individually rearranged. Moreover, the width of the two roller paths limit the handling of small sheet sizes. Its positively oppositely directed adjustment prevents the feeding of sheets which should be folded other than at their midst. Roller paths have moreover the disadvantage that the support of the sheet in the direction of movement is again and again interrupted and that thin sheets or lightly waved sheets, respectively, cause thereby malfunctioning.

Both above dealt with prior known constructions have no coupled upper sheet guide so as to prevent at high running speeds an unavoidable upward movement ofthe free sheet portion.

Finally, arrangements based on machines built by the inventor himself have been sketchily published before the filing of the present application, e.g. in the magazine Deutscher Drucker of Nov. 27, 1969, right hand column of the page showing FIGS. 20 to 22, as well as on page 8 of a pamphlet entre nous" distributed by the French company Leysen & Meier SA.

However, these publications either do not disclose the essential features of the invention, or the authors of those publications misunderstood or did not actually know the construction or for other reasons misrepresented it. Hence, these publications do not actually teach the present invention.

THE OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION One object of the invention is the elimination of the above explained disadvantages of the prior art devices.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a feeding and aligning table which for any size whatever, including sizes to be folded other than at their center, is quickly adjustable.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of upper and lower sheet guides for each adjustment along both edges and in the sheet middle whereby above all the endangered margin lying opposite the guide is guided securely up to the transfer of the sheet to the machine to be fed by it.

THE INVENTION These and other objects and advantages of the invention are achieved in that the aligning table is divided parallel to the direction of the movement into a middle part and two lateral parts which latter are both adjustable independently of each other to any desired width. Whereas in the construction according to the present of invention, the side of the guide effects the alignment of the sheet by a narrow conveyor belt and ball weights, an oppositely arranged supporting rod takes over the guidance of the free edge of the sheet assisted by an upper rod which is supported together with lower guide slidably and fixedly on a guide bracket. Both guides are at will adjustable relative to the middle. The free table surfaces between the center line of the table to the guides for the edges of the sheets are formed by highweb ondulated spring bands which support the sheet and offer but little contact surface. On account of the waviness of the bands in the direction of the movement of the sheets the formation of static electricity in the paper is counter acted. These bands adapt themselves automatically to the adjustment of the two sheet guides. The flat formation of the variable table surface by the spring bands allows furthermore a direct drive of the band or web roller which is driven via an elastic coupling and a profiled shaft in avoiding any intermediate drives by gears or chain sprockets as they are necessary in the prior known, above dealt-with constructions.

The invention does not only allow a quick adjustment of the guides along scales for the most different paper sizes but it permits above all the high running speeds as they are required for modern present-day paper working machines.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in art from the following description of one exemplary embodiment of the invention in combination with the illustration of such embodiment in the accompanying drawings.

THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the new feeding and aligning table together with fragmentary views of the adjoining structures;

FIG. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view, the section being taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1 as viewed in the direction of the arrows on such line;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section along line 33 of FIG. 1 through the drive shaft for the conveyor belt and its supporting elements;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section along line 44 of FIG. 1 showing a detail broken away in FIG. 2',

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical section along line 5-5 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical section along line 6-6 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT SHOWN IN THE DRAWINGS As particularly clearly shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is a machine frame comprising longitudinal, transversely spaced side rails 10 and 12, the side rails being interconnected by transverse rails 14 and 15 and by other (not shown) transverse members.

A rod 16 extends between the side rails 10, 12 and has its one end 18 slidably supported in rail 12 while its other end is formed by an extension 20 rotatably supported in rail 10. Extension 20 has on its outside a turning knob 22 and on its inner side a bushing 24 screwthreaded in its interior and screwed onto the screwthreaded end 26 of rod 16. Extension 20 is provided between its knob 22 and its bushing 24 with a groove 28 into which projects a member 30 which is secured to frame member 10, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. When rod 16 is prevented from rotating, by means to be described later on, then rotation of knob 22 with bushing 24 will cause rod 16 to move to the right or to the left, respectively, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, depending on the direction of rotation of knob 22 on account of the engagement of the screw threads of bushing 24 and end 26 of rod 16.

Bushings 32 and 34 are respectively slidingly supported by the rod 16 on both sides of its mid-point and may be secured in any desired position of adjustment by means of head bolts 36 and 38, respectively, screw threaded into the respective bushings 32, 34.

Midway between the bushings 32 and 34 there is a bar or rod 40, through an opening of which extends rod 16. Element 40 is fixedly connected with the transverse rails 14,15 and constitutes the middle part or mid-unit of the novel feeding table.

On both sides of its middle, rod 16 is provided with scales 42 and 44, respectively, allowing the reading off of the distances of the respective bushings 32 and 34 from the middle line for purposes to be explained later on herein.

The bushings 32 and 34 form parts of longitudinal rails 46 and 48, respectively, the ends of which are slidably supported on or suspended from the transverse frame members l4, 15 in a manner not shown in detail.

A guide element 50 is adapted to engage one lateral margin of a paper or the like sheet 52 (fragmentarely shown in FIG. 2), is secured to rail 46 and carries a perforated rigid plate 54 retaining-hold down balls 56.

A conveyor belt 58 is slidably supported beneath balls 56 on a supporting member 60 likewise secured to rail 46. Guide 50, retainer 54, balls 56, belt 58 and the latters support 60 are well known in the art and hence need not be described and illustrated in great detail. Suffice it to say here that belt 58, guide element 50 and balls 56 serve for gently aligning a sheet 52 which is moved by the belt 60, is held down by the balls 56 and kept in gentle contact with the guide element 50. However, the belt and the driving and guiding means for it will be described at some greater detail later on herein.

A plurality of resilient bands or strips 62 of steel or other suitable material are arranged on edge and secured at longitudinal intervals to the rails 40, 46, 48 and to each other, such as by rivets 64, between those rails. On account of their securement to the rails and to each other these strips or bands 62 constitute a grid work or a grate which represents a laterally extendable or contractable supporting surface for a sheet 52 of paper or the like. The upper surfaces of these strips 62 are all arranged in one common plane with the upper surfaces of belt 58, of a supporting strip 66 secured to the top of middle rail 40 and with the upper surface of a longitudinally grooved supporting strip 68 secured to the top of rail 48. Above strip 68 there is arranged a U- section hold-down rail 70 held on rail 48 by one or more U-shaped brackets 72. There is a middle holddown rail 74 of U-section which at one end is held by clip 76 on a guide member 78 of cross member 80 extending along and being secured to transverse rail 15 of the machine frame. The opposite end of rail 74 is provided with a bracket 82. This bracket engages a square rod 84 secured to cross member 14 of the machine frame. A head bolt 86 is screw-threaded into bracket 82 for adjustably securing it to rod 84 and varying the transverse position of rail 74. It should be noted that, as a rule, rail 74 will be arranged directly above rail 66 so as to securely guide a portion of a sheet of paper of the like. The laterally ofiset position of rail 74 relative to rail 66 is shown in the drawing merely so as to better show in FIG. 1 the construction of that part of the device which would normally be covered and hidden by rail 74. I

From the drawings and the foregoing description it should be self-evident that the width of the supporting table may be increased or decreased by loosening the head bolts 36 and/or 38, by moving the bushings 32 and/or 34 inwardly or outwardly on rod 16 and by then retightening the bolts 36 and 38. Guide 50 with rail 46 and belt 58 as well as guide 68 with rail 48 for the two margins of a sheet 52 may be transversely precision adjusted, within a rather narrow range, by turning knob 22 and thereby pulling the rod 16 in one direction or the other by means of the screw threaded bushing 24 and rod end 26.

There remains to be described the support and the drive of conveyor band or belt 58. Endless belt 58 is trained around an idler pulley 88 and a drive pulley 90. Both pulleys are rotatably supported by rail 46 or as shown in FIG. 3, by a bracket 92 extending langitudinally from rail 46. Both pulleys guide belt 58 at a slight angle to the intended longitudinal direction of movement of sheet 58 as this is well known in the art and hence need not be described in greater detail.

However, the drive of pulley 90 is effected by novel means and in a novel manner so as to accommodate the lateral adjustability of rail 46 with its guide 50 and belt support 60. Pulley 90 is freely rotatably supported on shaft 94 of bracket 92 by ball bearings 96. A flexible disk 98 has its periphery secured by retainer ring 100 and screws 102 to the inner open end of pulley 92. A shaft 104 is secured by its one end to the center of disk 98 by a washer-and-nut connection 106. The other end of shaft 104 carries a disk 108 which is freely slidable in the interior of a tubular shaft 110 rotatably carried in ball bearings 112, 114 by frame rail 12 and center rail 40 of the table. The inner end 116 of tubular shaft 110 and the outer surface of shaft 104 are provided with mating, mutually engaging grooves and ridges by which the two shafts are drivingly connected with one another while permitting relative movement in the direction of their common longitudinal axis. The outer end of shaft 110 carries a pulley 116 drivingly connected by V-belt 118 with motor 120. It should be selfevident that the telescoping engagement of shafts 104 and 110 and the flexible connection 98 to 106 of shaft 104 to drive pulley 90 permit lateral movement of pulley 90 and its supporting bracket 92 and guide rail 46 without disturbing the drive of pulley 90 by motor 120.

The grid formed by the resilient bands 62 is additional supported by rods 122 which at one end or both ends are mounted on the frame rails 10, 12 and preferably extend through holes in the rails 40, 46, 48 of the table.

The sheets are fed to the novel table by a well known rotating suction roller 124 which in its turn may be supplied from a stack of sheets by means of any one of well known sheet feeders (such feeder is not illustrated).

The sheets passed over the novel table by engagement with the conveyor belt 58 are fed to a grid 126 from which they may be transferred to any type of machine (not shown) for folding, printing etc.

The invention is not restricted to the specific illustrated embodiment and to the details thereof but protection is sought for all modifications and adaptations which will occur to those skilled in the art and which are covered by the language and the spirit of the attached claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an aligning table for sheets of paper and the like having along one of its sides a guide member for one of the side margins of the sheet, a conveyor belt inclined to and adjoining said guide member and said guide member having hold-down means for holding said one margin of the sheet onto said belt, characterized in a stationary middle member forming a central supporting member of said table for supporting a midregion of a sheet, two lateral members for supporting opposite side margins of such sheet, a first one of said lateral members being defined by said first-mentioned guide member and said conveyor belt, means for moving said lateral members respectively away from and toward said middle member so as to accommodate different sheet widths, and hold-down rails arranged, respectively above and associated with said central supporting member and with said other lateral member, said hold down rails and said hold down means holding down a mid portion and both marginal portions of a sheet.

2. The aligning table of claim 1 including a table portion of variable width between said central member and each one of said lateral members.

3. The aligning table of claim 2 wherein said table portions of variable width are defined by resiliently flexible metal bands arranged on edge, adjoining bands being connected at intervals with one another and with the respective adjoining one of said middle and said lateral members.

4. The aligning table of claim 1 including driving means for said conveyor belt, said driving means comprising a telescopingly extendable and contractable shaft and a coupling between said shaft and a pulley for said belt of the type permitting universal pivotal movement between said shaft and said pulley.

5. The aligning table of claim 4 wherein said telescoping shaft comprises a tubular first shaft member rotatably supported by element of the aligning table and a second shaft member telescopingly projecting into said tubular shaft.

6. The aligning table of claim 5 in which one end of said tubular ,shaft is' rotatably supported by said central supporting member. 

1. In an aligning table for sheets of paper and the like having along one of its sides a guide member for one of the side margins of the sheet, a conveyor belt inclined to and adjoining said guide member and said guide member having hold-down means for holding said one margin of the sheet onto said belt, characterized in a stationary middle member forming a central supporting member of said table for supporting a midregion of a sheet, two lateral members for supporting opposite side margins of such sheet, a first one of said lateral members being defined by said first-mentioned guide member and said conveyor belt, means for moving said lateral members respectively away from and toward said middle member so as to accommodate different sheet widths, and hold-down rails arranged, respectively above and associated with said central supporting member and with said other lateral member, said hold down rails and said hold down means holding down a mid-portion and both marginal portions of a sheet.
 2. The aligning table of claim 1 including a table portion of variable width between said central member and each one of said lateral members.
 3. The aligning table of claim 2 wherein said table portions of variable width are defined by resiliently flexible metal bands arranged on edge, adjoining bands being connected at intervals with one another and with the respective adjoining one of said middle and said lateral members.
 4. The aligning table of claim 1 including driving means for said conveyor belt, said driving means comprising a telescopingly extendable and contractable shaft and a coupling between said shaft and a pulley for said belt of the type permitting universal pivotal movement between said shaft and said pulley.
 5. The aligning table of claim 4 wherein said telescoping shaft comprises a tubular first shaft member rotatably supported by element of the aligning table and a second shaft member telescopingly projecting into said tubular shaft.
 6. The aligning table of claim 5 in which one end of said tubular shaft is rotatably supported by said central supporting member. 